From a Brazilian press report - a tidied up Google translation:-
A U.S. judge refused last week to open a case for compensation to relatives of victims of the flight AF 447 Air France accident, which killed 288 people on June 1, 2009 when flying the Rio de Janeiro - Paris route. The information was released on Friday by attorney Leonardo Amarante, who represents some victims' families.
In his ruling, Judge Charles R. Breyer, of the Court of California, said the U.S. court is not appropriate and dismissed the case, just as happened with the lawsuit by relatives of the victims of Gol Flight 1907 filed in the United States. "In the opinion of the court, the law shows that this is not the appropriate forum for a trial in this case," said the judge, on October 4.
"This Court has great sympathy for all families who lost loved ones in this horrible accident and is interested in examining the case for a fairly timely compensation, but sympathy can not be a substitute for the impartial application of the law" he added.
According to Leonardo Amarante, this type of decision aims to avoid a run on the U.S. courts, recognized worldwide for securing more favorable compensation to victims. "This experience has shown, the U.S. court is now completely closed to the trial of cases relating to accidents that have not happened in their country," he said. "The judge said the issue was 'forum non conveniens' for the trial of the case, and sent the case to another country, France. This is unfortunate, but it is a fact that all who wish to use American courts should be informed" said the lawyer.
I'm sure the insurers will be happy with that!
mm43